Message from Doug Brewer - Training with Ralph Raiola

My name is Doug Brewer and I am 63 years old and recently retired and have lived in the Tampa area since 1992.  I grew up on Long Island and played football at Lynbrook High School and the New York Institute of Technology.  I started lifting weights in the eighth grade when LHS purchased a Universal Gym (about 1972) where you chose your weight using a steel pin inserted in the appropriate hole in the weight stack. 

Around 1981 while still at New York Tech, a friend suggested I check out the Jack LaLane gym in Inwood, NY (by Kennedy Airport) as he said some pretty strong guys trained there and I could learn from them.  It was a standard gym for the time period except for one room which was reserved for powerlifting.  This is where I met Ralph Raiola, who taught me and a New York Tech football buddy, Paul Grieshiemer, how to properly squat, bench and deadlift.  Other “name” lifters that trained there were Tony Pandolfo (Mr. New York State), Lyle Alzado, a former Mr. Connecticut (forget his name), Mike Taranto (held the Oklahoma bench press record in the mid - late ‘60’s in the 275 lb. class with a lift of 485 lbs. I believe) and Dr. Ken Leistner would occasionally make an appearance.  I remember Lyle telling all of us young guys to never take steroids as they will ruin your health and I remember being very sad when I learned of his passing.  I have the Sports Illustrated cover from July 8, 1991 framed and hanging on the wall of my home office with him on the cover after he announced he had brain cancer with the caption, “I Lied”.  I remember spotting him on the bench and watching him lift 505 lbs. for a triple.  Lyle had a lot to do with me never taking PEDs even though the temptation was there.

 

I entered three powerlifting competitions with Ralph in 1982/1983 including the first (and maybe the only) Long Island Invitational at Lawrence H.S. run by Dr. Ken.  The other competitions were in Fort Lee, NJ and Gloversville, NY by Albany.  At that time, there were only weight classes with no age groups so a 25 year-old was competing against a 65 year-old as long as they weighed approximately the same.  I competed in the 181 lb. class and was your typical middle of the pack guy with personal bests of 455 lb. squat, 303 lb. bench and 501 lb. deadlift.  

 

The training schedule Paul and I did with Ralph consisted of bench and squats on Monday and Friday and deadlifts on Wednesday along with accessory movements including good mornings.  At the competitions we wore thicker wrestling-like singlets and knee wraps and not the multi-ply suits used today.  I am sure these singlets provided some help in the squat, but not much.  They certainly didn’t help in the bench and deadlift.  I stopped going to Jack Lalane in probably 1984 after I moved to Oceanside and started a moving and storage business called Brewer & Son, Inc. but continued to train, not too seriously, either in my basement or at Tom Terwilliger’s gym in Bellmore on Merrick Rd.  until I moved to the Tampa area in 1992 and got into the commercial real estate business.

 

I started serious powerlifting training again in 2015 at the age of 55 and have entered 6-8 competitions since then with my best total being 1,055 lbs.  I hope to be able to continue to powerlift into my 80’s and maybe be invited to some national competitions at some point.  When I can make it to south Florida, I train with a group of guys at Iron Therapy Gym in Lake Worth who have the same lifting spirit as the men I used to train with at the old Jack Lalane’s in Inwood 40 years ago.  I am truly blessed to have known both groups.  

 

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Ego Lifting Or Just Lifting? - By Jim Duggan

There is a popular term that people who work out like to use nowadays.  “Ego Lifting” is something that I never heard until recently.  Like many other phrases, it can have different meaning for different people.  And, like many phrases and words associated with lifting, I’m not entirely sure of what it quite means.  For instance, I have never understood the use of the word “Jacked” when referring to a person who lifts weights.  Is it supposed to be an adjective describing someone who is big and strong?  If so, does it make a difference if the person in question is drug-free or using steroids or other PEDs?  And, if he/she is not clean, then can we describe them as having used “Gear?”  Incidentally, “Using Gear” is one of my favorite sayings.  A neat and curious phrase.  It certainly is a cheerful euphemism for using steroids.  

     Incidentally, I have always gotten a kick out of some of the different phrases people use to describe those who take steroids.  Larry “Bruno” Licandro would refer to such a person as “Being on everything from A to Z.”  Legendary strength coach Kim Wood refers to steroids as “Gak,” which I think is pretty cool, too.  Tom Tedesco would refer to a user as someone who is “On the sauce.”  Over the last few years, I’ve used the phrase “Steroid-bloated druggie,” and I guess it kind of hits the nail on the head.  Of couse, Larry, Tommy, and Coach Wood were vehemently against the use of such drugs, so it’s not hard to see that those gentlemen had a great influence on how I view the whole issue.  

     I don’t mean to devote so much space to drug users, but I think the idea of ego lifting and drug use goes hand in hand, to a certain extent.  But the concept of ego lifting is something that is readily recognizable, if you train in a typical commercial gym.  Let me paint the picture:  A guy is training on a sled-type Leg Press machine.  He has loaded the machine with just about EVERY 45 Lb. plate within reach.  Imagine the machine loaded to the point where there is not room for any more plates.  Let’s just say twenty-four 45 Lb. plates ( 1,080 Lbs).  He now wraps his knees, tightens his belt, and gets in position in the machine.  He has two “gym bros” assist him in moving the weight off the safety pins.  Then, to the accompaniment of his screaming retinue, he will lower the stack roughly 6 inches or so, and then whilst using his hands to assist his legs, he will move the monstrous poundage to the completed position.  Upon completion of his “rep,” he will be cheered by his supporters while proudly proclaiming to the world that he has lifted nearly 1,100 pounds!  He will post this ( there is no way he will NOT have someone taking a video of this accomplishment, I mean, come on, this has to be shared).  Sometimes they will proclaim a new world record, as if there is a world record for such a silly movement.  If he’s lucky, at some point in his lifting journey, he will recognize how funny he looks, and correct himself.  Hopefully, before he injures himself.

     One time, years ago at The All-Natural Gym, Tom Tedesco came into the gym one night and decided that he wanted to Leg Press 1,000 Lbs, something he had never tried.  He didn’t make a big deal of it, in fact he mentioned it so casually that I didn’t realize what he was doing until he started loading plates to each side of the machine.  Even when it was loaded to one thousand pounds, he approached the poundage with  a cool professionalism that bordered on nonchalance.  I should not have been surprised, because I had never seen him display any emotion while competing.  In direct contrast to many powerlifters, he would approach each lift with a quiet confidence, confidence that had been developed through years of steady training.  As he settled in the machine ( no belt, no knee wraps), he simply unracked the weight, moved the safety handles, then slowly lowered the massive weight until his knees were on his armpits, then smoothly pushed the weight back up to the completed position.  He didn’t make a sound, and aside from myself, nobody in the gym noticed what had happened.  He could have easily done more, but he simply wanted to prove to himself that he could do it.  

     Now, who do you think is engaged in “ego lifting?”  Which brings me to an important point that I would like to make:  Just because someone is training hard and/or heavy, that does not mean that “ego lifting” is involved.  There are many lifters who are brutally strong, yet they toil away in near anonymity, content to lift for themselves and not for “Likes,” or followers in social media.  The fact that they can lift tremendous poundages is no reason to carry on like a mad banshee.  And when you consider that most of the “lifters” who do carry on can’t hold a candle to the truly strong individuals who train in a professional manner.  

     I used to enjoy watching people lift, back when I trained in a commercial gym.  I always got a kick out of a group of guys who do Deadlifts every Friday night.  They would set things up on the platform, and work through their warm-ups until they reached their working poundages.  What was funny was that as the weight on the bar increased, they would make a point of deliberately dropping the bar.  Not withstanding the fact that such behavior would result in the lift being judged “No Good,” I couldn’t imagine why they would do something like that until it hit me:  NOISE.  They just had to make noise to draw attention to themselves.  Certainly their lifting ability was no cause for anyone to notice them, but drop a loaded barbell and the whole place took notice.  A sudden, loud noise will cause everyone to stop and see where it was coming from.  It’s human nature.  Now, if having people pay attention to you is important, and that’s a big “if” in my opinion, wouldn’t it be more gratifying for it to be for your lifting ability?  I mean anybody could make noise.

     I suppose another form of “ego lifting” is that special type of individual who just has to make some outlandish claim about their ability.  The guy who claims to lift a certain amount of weight, yet when asked to provide proof of their ability, they fold like a beach chair.  We’ve all encountered the “Toppers,” those people who, upon finding out what you lift, they always come up with a number that is always a little bit higher.  Always.  Again, when it comes time to back their claims, they try to change the subject.  One good thing about competing in sanctioned competition, is that the Meet Results are there for all to see.  

    Years ago, there used to be a lifter who competed in local meets in the NY tri-state area.  He was in his forties, and claimed to have been a former weightlifting champion, powerlifting champion, as well as decorated Vietnam war veteran.  He also claimed to hold a Master’s degree as well as a PhD from a well known university.  His weightlifting claims were debunked by several prominent Olympic weightlifters who had never heard of him.  His education claims, likewise were found to be bogus ( a prominent lifter and meet director had attended and was a professor at the university in question).  And his military claims, similarly were found to be untrue by another lifter who HAD served and who had worked for the Veteran’s Administration.  Why anyone would make such outlandish claims is beyond me.  Oh, and the liar in question also claimed to have won over 300 trophies during his career.  This guy was George Santos before there was a George Santos.  If I believed in reincarnation……

     So, the next time you see someone drawing attention to themselves, either by their behavior, or outlandish claims, just try to get a laugh out of it.  It’s true that some people serve as an example of what not to do, but it’s also a fact that some people were simply put on this earth to make us laugh.

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